Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 129
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 29, 2004, 8:55 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 29, 2004, 8:55 PM CDT (01:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 30, 2004, 2:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 30 counties
Baldwin County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Covington County, AL, Dale County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Escambia County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Jefferson Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Plaquemines Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, Washington Parish, LA, George County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Stone County, MS
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:54 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
Warnings issued inside it
2 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 9:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Holmes, Walton | 46 min |
| Apr 29, 9:44 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Holmes, Washington | 31 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 149 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1025 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 490 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 3.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 300154
SEL9
SPC WW 300155
ALZ000-FLZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-300700-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 129
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
855 PM CDT THU APR 29 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN ALABAMA
THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE
SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 855 PM UNTIL
200 AM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 65 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTHWEST OF BOOTHVILLE LOUISIANA TO
40 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF DOTHAN ALABAMA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 126. WATCH NUMBER 126 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 855
PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 125...WW 127...WW 128...
DISCUSSION...THREAT EXPECTED TO PERSIST FOR SUPERCELLS ALONG DIFFUSE
WARM FRONT LIFTING SLOWLY N ACROSS CNTRL/ERN GULF CST. INFLUX OF
RICH BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE...COUPLED WITH ENHANCED LOW LEVEL SSELY
JET ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER IMPULSE LIFTING NE ACROSS W TN...WILL
MAINTAIN FAVORABLE SHEAR PROFILES FOR ROTATING STORMS AND ISOLATED
TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 55 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25030.
...CORFIDI
305,0900 313,0851 295,0851 290,0900SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 7:51 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Mobile, Monroe | 54 min |
| Apr 29, 9:25 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale | 5 hr |
| Apr 29, 11:09 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva and 3 more | 96 min |
| Apr 29, 11:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale | 64 min |
| Apr 30, 1:21 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva and 3 more | 24 min |
| Apr 30, 12:20 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Marion and 3 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 29, 8:58 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Attala, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clarke and 28 more | 62 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2004Tornado Watches in Florida, 2004Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2004Every tornado watch in 2004
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.